The last resort
by shoplifterette
Summary: Bella is a Hogwarts student and an Order member. When Voldemort tries to attack the school, Dumbledore calls in reinforcements - on of them being the Cullens, a vampire family from Forks, Washington. Bella/Edward, AU.


Disclaimer: I neither own Twilight nor Harry Potter. Just playing with the characters for a bit.

Voldemort, the darkest wizard of them all, was gaining more and more strength each and every day. The Order of the Phoenix, as well as the ministry aurors who had gone into hiding, were still opposing him. But they were losing ground quickly. Apart of the headquarters of the Order in Grimmauld Place, only Hogwarts was still a safe haven for all who opposed the Dark Lord's reign of terror.

Bella Swan, an American girl who had been raised in England by her mother Renée, had been introduced into the Order of the Phoenix just a few weeks ago. The witch, 17 years old, was now a full member of the Order, alongside her friends Harry, Ron and Hermione. At the moment, they were at Grimmauld Place, preparing for an Order meeting that was about to start. Bella, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley were preparing the living room of the old house of Black. The other members of the Order were all present, the only ones who were missing right now were the Professors Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall. As soon as they arrived, the meeting would start.

Bella, using her wand, levitated a tea tray onto the table in the middle of the room while Ginny was preparing some biscuits. Mrs. Weasley on the other hand was waving her wand furiously, trying to clean the curtains of all dust. She was fighting a losing battle, though – the house didn't seem to react too kindly to that kind of magic. And nobody, not even Molly Weasley, dared to cross Hermione Granger when it came to house elves. Because of that, nobody dared to ask Kreacher to help them clean the house without magic.

Bella, who would be starting her seventh year alongside Harry, Ron and Hermione, was a Gryffindor to the core. Though she loved to study, she was also very brave. And she was ruthless on the Quidditch pitch. Oliver Wood, her old team captain, had been almost in love with her – especially when they played against Slytherin. Hermione was a beater on the Gryffindor team, while Harry was its seeker and Ron its keeper. Only Hermione, who was rubbish on a broom, didn't make the house team. But she was always there to support her three friends, even when she could have been studying some obscure text during the time. Hermione, Bella had noticed as soon as she'd met her on the Hogwarts Express all those years ago, was loyal to a fault.

The new term was about to start in two weeks. Bella was looking forward to it, her strengths being transfiguration and charms as well as defence against the dark arts. She was the second best student in her year, only Hermione had managed to achieve better grades than the brown-haired witch. Bella was proud of her grades and often joined Hermione in her research for counter-curses and curses that could aid the Order in the fight against Voldemort.

Suddenly, three cracks cut through the silence of the entrance hall of Grimmauld Place. Bella turned around, just in time to see the three Professors entering the living room. She greeted them with a friendly wave as she put down a bowl of lemon drops on the table – Dumbledore, she was sure, would appreciate the gesture.

While the other members of the Order sat down on their chairs, Bella went over to Hermione to sit down beside her friend. The two young witches smiled at each other. Ron and Harry, on the other hand, had taken their places alongside the many Weasleys on the other side of the table.

"Welcome, welcome", said Albus Dumbledore, the usual twinkling almost absent from his eyes. "I am glad you could all make it to our meeting. We've got important matters to discuss today."

McGonagall and Snape, who had both chosen to remain standing, nodded at that. The headmaster continued. "Today, we have to talk about Hogwarts and its security during the new term. This has got to be our top priority now." The old wizard sighed and rubbed his eyes, clearly fatigued. "It seems that Voldemort" - gasps could be heard in the living room - "will chose this year to try and attack the school. It is the last year of Harry Potter's stay at the castle and after that, he won't be able to find him so easily. According to my sources", he said while looking at Snape, "he will use the fact that he will know were Harry is to his advantage. We cannot let him succeed in that."

Molly Weasley interrupted the headmaster. "But sir – if You-Know-Who knows were to find Harry, shouldn't we keep him far from Hogwarts? Maybe he could stay at the Burrow for the year. It could be put under a Fidelius charm..."

McGonagall sighed and addressed the Weasley matriarch. "Molly – even the Fidelius charm isn't unbreakable. Hogwarts is the safest place there is, it is protected by ancient wards that are almost impossible to overcome. He could never be as safe at the Burrow as he would be at Hogwarts."

Harry chose this time to speak up. "If my presence in Hogwarts endangers other students and teachers, I don't want to stay there. If Voldemort wants to come looking for me, he won't find me anywhere near my friends."

Professor Dumbledore looked at him, pride shining in his blue eyes. "I'm sorry, Harry, but Minerva is right. You have to stay at Hogwarts. Even if you are not there, Voldemort will still come looking for you at Hogwarts when he can't find you anywhere else. There is really no other option – you have to stay at the school. And we have to face him when he finally decides to make a move."

Harry was about to protest, but was cut off from Professor Snape. "Your foolish bravery will get everyone killed one of these days", the potions master said to the green-eyed boy. "Hogwarts is your only option. It is well protected and easy to defend. We won't get a better chance against the Dark Lord."

The Headmaster seemed to agree with him. "Severus is right. Even though I can't say that I am happy that underaged students will be present when he finally decides to attack, it is our best option. We will just have to evacuate everyone that can't be present when the fighting starts. There is a secret passage in the Room of Requirement that can be used to get the students out of the line of fire." Dumbledore paused for a minute. "Now, we have to talk about the security measures that will be needed to protect the school. Does anyone have any idea that could help us?"

Bella raised her voice. "Well, of course we could use the help of the aurors that are in hiding at Hogwarts. They could secure the entrances to the school, even the secret ones. And the Order might be of help as well – the adult members could patrol the hallways and the grounds, just to make sure that no Death Eaters manage to penetrate our security."

McGonagall nodded. "Excellent ideas, Bella. I would award you some house points for Gryffindor, but as we are not there at the moment, I'm not sure it's possible. Still, your ideas have merit. What do you think, headmaster?"

The wise old wizard stroked his beard for a moment. "I quite agree. To be honest, I've been thinking along the same lines. The additional protection that the aurors and the Order members could offer would be a major advantage in our struggle to protect the school."

"It's decided then", said Mad-Eye Moody. "We will come to Hogwarts to protect the school."

Dumbledore nodded. "Exactly. I'm sure this will be a great help. Now, does anyone have more ideas?"

This time, it was Ron who spoke first. "Yes, sir. Why don't we establish extra lessons in defence for all those who are of age on a voluntary basis? This way, they will be prepared to fight if they decide to stay at the school once it is attacked."

"As much as it pains me to admit this – this is an excellent idea", said Snape, much to the surprise of everyone else in the room. "I would offer myself to be your teacher if Professor Dumbledore agrees to go along with your plan – I am a master at duelling and I am sure you could learn a lot from me. And you'll need it – your own skills are abysmal."

The headmaster beamed at Ron. "Excellent, excellent. It is decided then. We'll have a new duelling club once the term starts- Professors Snape and Flitwick will oversee it – this way, we can ensure you'll stay safe while learning new spells."

Hagrid, who had been silent until now, started to speak as soon as Dumbledore was finished. "Professor", he began, fidgeting slightly, "I have another idea. Why don't we recruit magical creatures to help protect the school? I am sure the centaurs, for example, would be a great help."

Deep in thought, Dumbledore shook his head. "The centaurs won't help us, they are neutral in this conflict and want to stay that way." He paused for a minute. "But still – maybe the Cullens could help", he murmured, almost to quietly for anyone else to hear.

"The Cullens?", asked Hermione. "Who are they?"

Dumbledore looked up, his eyes twinkling madly. "They are a family of vampires. I wonder if they would be up to helping us protect the school."

Pandemonium ensued, even Snape seemed taken aback at Dumbledore's suggestion.

"You can't be serious", cried McGonagall. "We can't allow vampires to come this close to our students. They're dangerous!"

Remus Lupin seemed to agree with her. "I know this sounds rich, coming from a werewolf – but you can't let them set foot in the school. They aren't just dangerous at the full moon, they are dangerous every second of the day."

Dumbledore raised his hand and the room fell silent. "I understand your concerns", the wizard said. "But they are misplaced. The Cullens are a family of vegetarian vampires – they feed from animals, not from humans. And they are very compassionate. The father, Carlisle Cullen, an old friend of mine, even works as a muggle healer and is exposed to human blood on a daily basis without giving in to the temptation." Everyone stared at the headmaster. "Just wait for a moment", Dumbledore said. "I will summon Carlisle instantly."

The old wizard went over to the fireplace and stuck his head into it. Bella heard him murmur something which she couldn't quite understand before Dumbledore took a step back. Seconds later, the flames turned green and a blond man who looked to be in his mid-twenties stepped out of the fireplace gracefully.

"Albus", the vampire said while he embraced the headmaster. "Old friend."

"Good evening, Carlisle. I hope your travel through the floo network wasn't too unpleasant?"

"No, no", said Mr. Cullen while he brushed some dust from his clothes. He regarded the Order members warily. "Not that I am not glad to see you but you did want to speak to me? What is this about? I am not sure that I am very welcome here."

Dumbledore took his time to fill him in on the situation after he had introduced him to the other Order members. Carlisle looked to be deep in thought.

"I can't speak for the rest of my family", the vampire said finally. "But I, for one, would like to help you out. Spells can't penetrate our skin, so my family would be safe while they would help to guard the school. And I am sure that they would jump at a chance to get out of the monotony of high school life. Let me just get them, okay? Then we can all talk about this."

Dumbledore nodded at him. "Please, Carlisle, proceed."

Carlisle stepped back through the flames and was gone in a flash. Half an hour later, the family of vampires came back to 12 Grimmauld Place. Carlisle was the first, closely followed by his wife Esme. Next were Jasper and Alice, followed by Rosalie, Emmett and Edward. Carlisle proceeded to introduce his family to the Order.

Bellas breath caught in her throat as soon as she spotted the beautiful, bronze-haired vampire standing in the middle of the room. His sparkling topaz eyes found hers as she stared at him. Edward looked as shocked as she did – the attraction was instantaneous. Edward inhaled deeply and smiled at her, a wonderful, crooked smile that made her knees buckle. Shyly, she smiled at him in return. She was just about to take a step into his direction when Carlisle started to speak.

"My family and I have come to a decision. We will help to protect Hogwarts and its students from harm – the dark wizard isn't allowed to win. If we can make a difference in your fight, then so be it. We would be glad to be of assistance."

Bella shivered slightly. She didn't know what she liked most – the fact that they had additional fighters or the fact that she could spend a year getting to know that beautiful, bronze-haired boy.


End file.
